Only You
by Lyri146
Summary: Clint and Bucky have been living together for years, and Bucky has always had to pick up the pieces when Clint plays unintentional matchmaker for his friends with the person he's currently interested in. What Clint fails to realise is Bucky's been in love with him all along. No powers AU
1. Been Here Before

**Chapter 1 – Been Here Before**

Bucky looks up from his spot on the couch and pauses the show he's watching when he catches sight of the grin on Clint's face.

'Please tell me you aren't going to make me guess,' he says as the man flops down onto the couch next to him.

'Aww but that's no fun,' Clint pouts, though he's still not stopped grinning.

'Go on just tell me who he is,' Bucky sighs, fighting back the bile at the words.

'Not a he this time Buckaroo,' Clint says, staring off into dreamland, 'a she.'

'Ok,' he replies after a few moments of silence, 'tell me who _she_ is then. And I thought you decided to swear off women?'

'Yeah,' he shrugs in response, 'after Laura it just seemed like that was a good thing to do you know? But then Tony and Bruce didn't exactly end the way I thought they would so when I met Hope I thought: why not? And she is _awesome_!'

Bucky smiles for his friend. 'So who is she? How did you meet her?'

'She was taking part in the class after mine,' Clint explains, 'and we just used to get chatting. She was asking me about what kind of martial arts I teach and started coming to a couple and we just hit it off you know? Anyway she's really into board games like we are, so I suggested she join us on Saturday for our regular games night.'

'You checked with Tony right? Because you do remember it's due to be at his?'

Clint waves his concerns off. 'Course I did. He said the more the merrier! Plus when I said she was into tech just like him he couldn't wait to meet another person he can nerd out with.'

'You say it like we aren't all a bunch of nerds for playing board games in the first place,' Bucky rolls his eyes.

'Oh shut it. I got to go make sure everyone knows she's coming and tell Nat to be nice.'

'Nat's always nice unless she doesn't like someone.'

'She's also intimidating as fuck to new people.'

'She is a world champion martial artist, what do you expect?'

'Her to be nice to the people I date!'

Bucky's left watching Clint's retreating form as he goes into his bedroom and starts the show again with a sigh. He can't really focus any more on the characters though. He, Clint, Natasha and Steve had all met in high school; Clint and Nat were friends from when they were little, same as he and Steve had been, and the four of them had just meshed well together. Then Clint had met Laura and gone to get married, Nat had been training all hours of the day, and he and Steve had done a stint in the army and the four of them had drifted apart a little.

Then Bucky and Steve had come back from their tours and left the army, Steve setting up a security business and convincing Bucky to help him (not that it had taken much), and they were doing pretty well. Then Natasha had decided to retire from international competitions before she started losing and had come to join them and the rest of their team, training kids and adults on the side as she started up her own training business. No one had heard much from Clint until he turned up on Bucky's doorstep one night, completely pissed and sobbing his heart out.

Laura had run off with his older brother Barney, taking most of their combined savings with her. Clint had been heartbroken and Bucky hadn't given him any choice on moving in with him. Slowly the three of them had helped Clint recover, and he'd taken up teaching martial arts with Nat so they could run more classes to keep up with demand.

The other problems came when Clint decided to start dating again. They all knew he'd always been bi, and it wasn't much of a surprise when the first person he introduced to them was a guy. Tony was about the same size as Clint, wiry like him, and with dark hair and eyes that screamed mischief and intelligence. It was obvious why Clint had fallen for him.

Unfortunately he hadn't told anyone other than Bucky about his feelings for Tony, and Tony and Steve had hit it off right away, despite starting the night off with an argument, they'd been thick as thieves by the end of the night. No one was surprised when they went official a month later. Yet again Bucky had been left to pick up the pieces of a heartbroken Clint.

That hadn't stopped the blond from trying though. The next person he'd brought to meet them had been another guy; Bruce was a little older than them, very smart and very quiet and seemed happy to stick by Clint and use him as protection from the overly enthusiastic bunch, which now included Thor from Steve's security firm, a tall, muscular blond who had a personality as big as his muscles. Admittedly everyone was surprised when Bruce hit it off with Natasha of all people, and within two months they too were official. Again Bucky was left to pick up the tattered remains of Clint Barton.

And then there was Jane. Clint's last attempt at dating a woman that had him swearing off women all over again. Small, quiet, intelligent Jane who surprised them all by challenging Thor over some dispute between him and Clint. Maybe it was that that started the spark. Within two months they'd gone official as well. Bucky had had to book a whole week off work after that time.

Now there was Hope. Would she be any different? For Clint's sake Bucky hopes so. But selfishly?

He looks down as his phone buzzes with a text, picking it up he sees it's from Steve.

"_How you feeling about this new girl?"_

Selfishly Bucky hopes she goes the same way as the rest of them. "_Trying not to at the moment."_ He sends the reply.

"_You could just man up and tell him_." Steve responds.

"_Easy for you to say. Who's coming on Saturday?"_

"_Tony and me, since it's our house we're playing at; Nat and Bruce; Thor and Jane, and Thor's bringing his brother Loki who apparently Jane doesn't get on with that well; Tony's got Pepper to come along and Rhodey; you and Clint; and Scott and Sam are joining us from work."_

"_Who let the bird brain come along?"_

"_Stop harassing my employees!"_

_ "_Our_ employees, Stevie. I own half the company remember. And Sam's an ass anyway."_

"_You forfeit your half of the company until you grow up enough to tell the man you love how you feel."_

And isn't that just the crux of the whole problem? Bucky's been in love with Clint since high school. Damn near broke his heart watching him marry Laura, never fully convinced she was the right woman for him; but then, as Natasha had pointed out when she helped him drink his sorrows away with some vodka just after they announced their engagement, was anyone going to be good enough for Clint in Bucky's eyes?

_Not even you're good enough for him since you won't even tell him how you feel_, he berates himself, giving up on the TV and turning it off, deciding an early night wouldn't hurt. Not like he's going to get much sleep anyway.

* * *

Just over a week later Bucky is cooking dinner when he hears the door go. 'Hey Clint!' he calls out, stirring the chilli in the pan. 'I got chilli on the go for dinner if that's alright? How did classes go today?'

There's a thump in the hallway and no response. _That doesn't sound right,_ Bucky frowns, turning the heat off on the stove. As he turns he sees Clint's dejected form leaning against the door frame of the kitchen.

'Clint? What's happened?'

'Am I just unlovable, Bucky?'

'What the hell? Why would you say that?'

'You know how when we got to Tony and Steve's and everyone was there Hope and Scott knew each other from before and were catching up loads?'

'Yeah?' he'd remembered being happy to notice that Hope hadn't ditched Clint either for having found a former friend and had included him in most of their talks and had kept returning to speak to Clint throughout the night. Overall, Bucky had to admit he'd liked Hope. He just has a feeling he knows where this is going. 'Didn't Scott give her a ride home afterwards?'

'Uh huh,' Clint sniffs, 'turns out they did a lot more catching up and found out they'd both had feelings for each other but hadn't acted on them because of her dad. Now they've decided to give it a go. She _thanked_ me for giving them the opportunity to reconnect.'

'Shit.' And really that's the only thing Bucky can think of to say to sum up the whole situation.

Clint laughs sourly. 'Yeah, that just about covers it.'

'Want me to put this in the fridge and order pizza?' he offers, knowing it's a sure way of cheering the blond up.

Clint manages a smile at least. 'You know what? No. The chilli smells awesome, Buck. How about we break the cycle, eh? We always do pizza after this happens, maybe if we do something homemade instead next time something better will happen.'

'Yeah,' Bucky grins at him, determination forming in his gut, 'yeah maybe it will.' _Because I'm not watching you get your heart broken any more, Clint,_ he decides as he turns the heat back on and boils some water for the rice. _I'm going to get my courage up and I'm going to tell you how I feel. But first, I think we'd better get you over the disappointment of Hope._ 'You can choose the movie tonight,' he tells the other man as Clint goes to put his stuff away.

'I don't know what I'd do without you Bucky.'

_That makes two of us,_ Bucky agrees.

* * *

'Alright,' Bucky mutters to himself. 'Steak is ready to go, sauce just needs heating up, chips are in the oven and I've got a couple of bottles of red. Right, you can do this Bucky. All you need to do is tell him, after dinner and a couple of glasses, that you've been in love with him since high school and would he maybe please stop wasting time on other people and go out with you instead.' He takes a couple of breaths. 'Oh God I can't do this.'

His phone vibrates and he frowns at a text from Tony. _"Break a leg, Snowflake, you'll be fine. I don't know how he's resisted your gorgeous body for so long."_

_ "Don't you have your own boyfriend you should be ogling the body of?" _

_ "I can appreciate good muscles when I see them!"_

Bucky decides he doesn't actually want to get into this conversation and puts his phone back in his pocket. He'd only told Steve and Tony about his plan for tonight, he's already regretting that decision. His phone vibrates again and he sees Tony's newest message. _"You're ignoring me, therefore I win!"_

It's followed a couple of minutes later by one from Steve. _"Sorry I've got his phone from him now. I'll keep him entertained for the evening so he doesn't bother you. Good luck!"_

Wondering how he ended up with such weird friends he hears the front door go and tries to remain calm and casual as he hears Clint's footsteps down the hallway.

'Bucky you'll never guess what!' he grins as he launches himself into one of the chairs at their small dining table.

'You finally beat Nat in a fight?'

Clint snorts. 'Come on, let's be realistic. I swear that woman isn't human. No, what _actually_ happened is Nat hired a new instructor; she's just come out the army and she's moved here and doesn't really know anyone, so Nat suggested she join us for games night this week to try and make friends. Bucky she is _incredible_. She's super skilled and she's going to be doing self-defence classes, but she's like super hot and really funny. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think she could be an actual contender, like something might _actually_ happen here. We definitely clicked. Hey, is that steak for dinner? What's the occasion?'

Bucky tries to fight back the urge to scream and makes a conscious effort not to clench his fists or grit his teeth. He smiles through the pain and just shrugs. 'Just felt like a change tonight, that's all. Seems like we might have a reason to celebrate though. There's a couple of bottles of red on the side, why don't you open one and pour and I'll start the steaks?'

'Ok sure,' Clint smiles, completely oblivious to the turmoil in Bucky's heart as he goes to open one of the wine bottles.

'How do you want the steak? Medium?'

'You know me so well,' Clint grins, then he frowns and looks at Bucky again. 'You alright?'

'Yeah fine,' he forces a smile back, 'just a bit of a tiring day at work, that's why I thought we could treat ourselves with dinner tonight.'

When Clint goes to get changed he grabs his phone from his pocket and sends a text to Natasha. _"You are banned from hiring any more instructors. Understood?"_

_"Oh god, please don't tell me he's fallen for Carol already?"_

_"What do you think?"_

'Sure smells amazing,' Clint says as he returns and Bucky dishes up.

'I do try,' he grins. 'Now why don't you tell me about this new girl?'

He forces the food down even though his appetite is completely gone with the way Clint's eyes light up as he talks about their new instructor.

* * *

_A/N: Hi everyone. I hope you enjoy this new story from me; it was a request from a reader over on AO3. Please do let me know if you have any requests of your own and do let me know what you think of this first chapter._

_Love always,_

_L x_


	2. Stop Holding Back

**Chapter 2 – Stop Holding Back**

'I've only just got him to leave his room for anything other than meals or work, I am _not_ going to start this now,' Bucky glares at Steve across the table.

'Look, Buck,' Tony sits at the kitchen table, taking the seat between the two friends, 'I get why you don't want to just yet, but you've really had a lucky escape with Carol. I mean if her and Rhodey hadn't already had that thing from when they were in the army together then you could have lost him. Again.'

'I get why you're scared,' Steve cuts him off before he can respond. 'We've known him since we were teenagers, we've been through a lot together, hell you two have been through more together than the rest of us. You don't want to lose that. But Bucky he _deserves _to be happy with someone, and so do you. You've been in love with him since we were _fifteen_. Don't wait until you're having to drown your sorrows in vodka with Nat again to be able to watch him walk down the aisle with someone else.'

'Well he wouldn't anyway,' Tony waves the concern away, 'he'd be doing it with _me_ and we'd be doing it with the best whiskey money can buy.'

'Tony,' Steve says warningly.

'Oh come on!' the inventor throws his hands in the air. 'When I first met you guys I thought you two _were_ going out. Pretty sure all the others did too, otherwise we wouldn't have ended up with who we're with now. Well I would have done,' he shrugs, 'I mean who can resist being told they're an arrogant ass the first them they meet someone?'

Steve groans. 'You're never letting that go are you?'

'In fairness I did call you a self-righteous prick.'

'It's the reason Natasha loves you so much,' Bucky grins, 'I would have preferred it if you'd called him a punk instead, but I'm happy with what I got.'

'Thanks,' Steve rolls his eyes.

'The point is, Buckaroo,' Tony continues, 'you two _act_ like you're together. Even when he's bringing other people to our games nights it's you he's constantly looking over for, it's _you_ he tends to team up with, it's _you_ he wants the opinion of. And you look at him like he's your world. I honestly was shocked when I found out you two _weren't _together.'

'Wait,' Bucky's brain is struggling to keep up. 'Are you telling me you think he _likes_ me? The same way I do him?'

'Are we back in school now or something?' Tony rolls his eyes. 'Yes he _likes_ you the way you do him. Now are you going to do something about it or are you going to let someone else run off with your man?'

Bucky blinks a couple of times then looks at Steve. 'We should let him do the inspiring talks at work, he's much better at it than you are.'

'Screw you,' the blond laughs.

* * *

Bucky Barnes does have one advantage in his mission to convince Clint Barton to go out with him. Well two if you're being technical. One: he knows that Clint is a secret hopeless romantic. Two: he loves a good mystery. Which is why the plan he has concocted with Steve and Tony, and Nat when she found out what they were doing, is absolutely fool proof.

At least that's what he keeps telling himself.

'Bucky!' Clint yells as soon as Bucky opens the front door. 'You will never guess what arrived today?'

'A new set of hearing aids? I might need them after that screech.'

'Very funny,' Clint rolls his eyes. 'No! I got a special delivery. A box of chocolates, _Belgian_ chocolate I might add, which is amazing because you _know_ how much I love Belgian chocolate, but this note came with it.' He thrusts the note into Bucky's hands, not that he needs to read it but he guesses he should otherwise that would ruin the surprise.

'A note? "Something sweet for the sweetest man I know. M." Well isn't that corny as shit?'

'Oh shut up, I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff no matter how corny or tacky it might be,' Clint huffs, snatching back his card. They'd decided it should be typed as Clint would recognise any of their writing. 'Who do you think 'M' is? It has to be someone we know otherwise how would they know today was my day off?'

'Maybe you have a stalker?'

'Bucky! Stop ruining it,' Clint pouts.

Bucky laughs. 'Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I don't know? Does anyone have a middle name beginning with 'M' they might use to throw you off?'

Clint frowns. 'I've been thinking all day and I can't work it out. Not even Nat's been able to help with this mystery.'

'Maybe that's what it stands for,' Bucky suggests, heart pounding with nerves, 'maybe it's 'M' for 'Mystery'. What do you want for dinner? Chicken alright?'

'Yeah that sounds good,' Clint answers, tone distracted. 'Let's stick with 'Mystery' for now until we can come up with something.'

Bucky breathes a sigh of relief as he reaches the kitchen and fishes his phone out of his pocket. He rolls his eyes at the group chat name Tony came up with and sends them a message.

**Bucky:** _Operation Get Clint to Love Bucky? Really Tony? Well in case anyone is wondering part one went according to plan. He's currently stuffing his face with the chocolates as we speak, and he's loving the mystery and cheesy comments._

**Natasha: **_Of course he is. He's more of a girl than I've ever been._

**Bucky:**_ Thanks for organising the chocolates, Tony._

**Tony: **_No sweat, Buckaroo. But I'm calling dibs on godfather for the first kid._

**Natasha:**_ Is Steve going to give him the birds and the bees talk or can I be the one to disappoint him?_

**Tony: **_Never heard of a thing called adoption my dear Ms Romanov?_

**Natasha: **_Look out Steve! Tony has plans._

**Steve: **_No he doesn't_

* * *

**Bucky:** _Ok guys the lightsabers were a huge success. Except I now have bruises, and I didn't think it was possible to get bruises from plastic toys. Plus I think he's more excited about the toys than he is with trying to work out who his mystery person is._

**Natasha:** _He gave you bruises from toy lightsabers? Maybe I should give that boy a bigger cut of the takings._

**Tony:**_ You definitely are a big harsh on him considering how many extra classes he does for you._

**Natasha:**_ Who asked your opinion Mr Billionaire?_

**Steve:**_ Mr Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist I think is the correct title, if memory serves._

**Tony: **_Considering I'm dating you honey, I think we need to remove the 'playboy'._

**Steve: **_Guys we should be much more supportive of Bucky. Has he calmed down enough to talk about the mystery gift giver yet?_

**Natasha: **_Why isn't he replying?_

**Tony: **_Oh my god did Clint work it out early and now they're getting down and dirty?_

**Bucky:** _Definitely not. He just got a good shot. Let's just say it's a good thing we wouldn't be able to have kids anyway._

**Tony: **_I swear I am not laughing right now._

**Steve:**_ Serves you right for all the times you'd get me to stop fighting by putting me on top of a wall._

**Natasha: **_I'm doubling Clint's paycheck._

**Bucky: **_I hate you all._

* * *

Bucky's back on the sofa when Clint returns home from work. 'Good day?' he calls, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach.

'I got another delivery,' is his reply, Clint sounds excited which he's taking as a good sign. 'This one got delivered to work. Had a hell of a time getting it out in one piece.'

'Oh really? What was it?'

Clint enters the living room, hair a mess from where he's been teaching, a box under his arm and flops down onto the couch. 'You're not going to believe it,' he warns Bucky before opening the long box and revealing the bottle inside. 'Somehow this mystery person knows I'm partial to a bottle of whiskey. And this bottle is the kind of price tag I've only ever seen in Tony's private collection that he thinks he keeps securely locked away where no one can get to it.'

'And you've stolen a couple of glasses from without his knowing?'

'Of course,' Clint grins. 'This is the best stuff you can get and it's amazing. Look at the note that came with it as well.' He passes over the note.

'Let's see what soppy crap they've come up with this time. "A man as special as you deserves all the finest things in life." Ok so not as bad as I was expecting,' Bucky laughs.

'Hey shut it you, this is my mystery person you're talking about!'

'No ideas yet?'

Clint shakes his head, face slipping into a disappointed frown. 'Not really. I mean it's obviously someone who knows me really well, but who do I know who's single and has enough money to spend to get me a bottle of whiskey like _this_.' He shakes the bottle to emphasis his point. 'I mean Tony's the only one I know who'd spend this much on a bottle of whiskey and it's not going to be him. Oh god unless he and Steve want a weird threesome situation. Please tell me that's not what's happening.'

Bucky can't help but burst out laughing. 'Clint I think you're safe there.'

The blond sighs with relief. 'Well how about we both have a glass? I think I owe you from yesterday's injury,' he smiles guiltily.

'Why not? We can crack open some beers later and see if we can work out who your mystery person is,' Bucky winks at him.

'Alright, two glasses of the finest whiskey coming right up!' Clint jumps up from the sofa and heads towards the kitchen.

Bucky looks down as his phone vibrates.

**Tony:** _Barnes it's day three, third gift has been delivered as confirmed by Nat. Where the hell is our update?_

**Steve: **_Sorry Buck, I left him unattended at home while I went in to cover the evening shift for Scott._

**Tony: **_You make me sound like a child._

**Bucky: **_Well he had a freak out that you two wanted a weird threesome situation thing with him, but I talked him out of it._

**Steve: **_Oh thank god! I don't think I could look him in the eye if he still thought that when we next saw him._

**Tony:**_ Well I mean that would all depend on how well he cooks…is he a good cook?_

**Steve: **_TONY! WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?_

**Bucky: **_He's a shit cook. I cook all our meals._

**Tony:**_ Aw damn there goes that pipe dream._

**Steve: **_TONY!_

**Tony:**_ I'm joking, chill out._

**Natasha: **_This is why I love you Tony._

* * *

Day four's gift is the one Bucky is most worried about. Not because he thinks Clint won't like it, but because it could get the most emotional reaction out of him.

'I'm back!' Clint calls as he walks through the door. 'Man classes today were tough, my kids class were all over the place. No idea _what _they were on, but man I need some for the tough days.'

'You've got another parcel,' Bucky tells him as he appears in the kitchen doorway. 'I put it in the living room for you. It's quite big.'

'Really?' Clint frowns. 'Why is this person going to all this trouble? I mean this is the fourth day now and there's been no more clues as to who they are.'

'Whoever it is obviously wants to show you they care about you,' he supplies, throat suddenly dry. 'You not enjoying it any more? I thought you liked the mystery element?' Oh god what if they'd gone too far. There was only one more gift to go, should he stop it and just tell Clint now?

'I guess I just want to know who it is, at the moment it feels like I'm never going to find out and I just want to say thank you if nothing else and see if we can maybe be something. Right now it just…I don't know, maybe I'm thinking too much about it.'

'Why not wait until the end of the week?' Bucky suggests. 'If there's no more hints or anything then send one of them back to the sender with a note saying they have to deliver it in person or something.'

Clint nods, his expression a little more relaxed and a smile creeping onto it. 'Yeah that's a good plan. At least I have a back up and it means I can enjoy the mystery a little longer. Come on let's go see what 'M' has sent me this time.'

Breathing a sigh of relief Bucky follows him out into the living room and watches from the doorway, trying his hardest not to fidget from nerves and give himself away. When he final gets into the box, Clint's eyes go wide and he freezes.

'Clint?' he asks after a few moments of silence.

'I…I can't…I don't know what…how…' Clint reaches into the box and pulls out a bow and a set of arrows. 'There's a target as well,' his voice is quiet. 'How did they…who…why…'

Bucky doesn't say anything, just let's Clint take it in. When they were at school Clint had been an amazing archer and had taken part in loads of competitions, he continued after school and had been a contender for the Olympic team but he'd given it up to marry Laura. When she'd left him for Barney all of his archery kit had been left at the house and Clint had never wanted to go back there to get it, even though Bucky knew it was one of the things he regretted the most: leaving it all behind.

'The note,' Clint's voice is strained, 'it says: "You hit my heart with your first shot. Time to take back your own heart, Cupid." How did they know I didn't have my stuff anymore?'

'They must really care about you, Clint,' he replies quietly.

Clint nods. 'I think…I'm going to need a bit of time to process this one, Buck, you mind if I-'

'Go to your room and take all the time you need, Clint. I'll leave something in the microwave for you,' Bucky smiles at him.

* * *

Natasha is sitting at the kitchen table with Clint and Bucky when the doorbell goes.

'You'd better get it, Clint, it's probably your latest parcel,' Bucky grins at him.

'Alright. Here goes nothing,' the blond replies, jumping up from where they've been eating dinner and heading down the corridor.

'He seriously still has no idea who it is?' Natasha asks with a raised eyebrow.

'Nope,' Bucky grins.

Clint enters the kitchen with a happy cry as he opens the box and spies the contents. 'Aw yes! I love baklava! And its dessert time too!'

'You're still halfway through your dinner,' Natasha scolds him.

'Oh shush you,' Clint waves her off. 'Here read the card, that'll make you happy.'

She takes it from him and reads it out loud. 'Here goes. "Something sweet for the sweetest man I know" ugh really? You enjoy this garbage?'

'Shut up and carry on,' Clint frowns at her, liking the syrup off his fingers as he indulges in some of the baklava.

She rolls her eyes and continues. 'Why am I even friends with you? "I know the suspense is probably driving you crazy. If you're willing to give me a chance meet me for dinner at the following address tomorrow at eight. Don't be late and make sure you bring a tie."'

Clint's paused mid-chew. 'They want to meet me?'

'This is like one of the swankiest places in town!' Natasha passes him the card. 'You're going right?'

'Umm…'

'You're not?' Bucky asks, panic gripping him. 'Why not?'

'This is going to sound crazy but…I don't want to meet them and them be disappointed you know? I don't want this to end up like all the others.'

'Clinton Francis Barton,' Natasha scowls, 'if they have gone through all of this trouble just to get you to go on a _dinner date_ I very much doubt they are going to be disappointed in you. Now we are going to work out what you are going to wear and we are going to get it ready for tomorrow night. Do you understand me?'

'You're not giving me a choice are you?' Clint asks.

'No I am not,' the red head responds.

_Thank god for Natasha,_ Bucky thinks as he watches Clint get dragged out of the kitchen.

* * *

_A/N: Hi everyone. I hope you enjoy this week's update - please do let me know what you think. There's only one more chapter left!_

_Love always,_

_L x_


	3. Only You

**Chapter 3 – Only You**

'I can't do this.'

'Clint Barton,' Tony snaps, 'if you chicken out you are never allowed access to my drinks cabinet again. Do I make myself clear?'

'That's just mean.'

'Desperate times, Clint, desperate times. Now please don't tell me you're going dressed like that? The restaurant will _not_ let you in.'

'Of course not,' Bucky laughs to himself as Clint rolls his eyes. 'I've brought the change of clothes with me don't panic.'

'Really? Because all I can see is your gym bag,' Natasha says as she comes out of Tony and Steve's kitchen.

'No. I brought the suit bag with me, I took it to the gym and put it in my locker…'

'Which you never use and you forgot to check. Am I right?' she asks.

'Err…' Clint blushes bright red. 'Maybe?'

'Clint!' everyone is gathered at Tony and Steve's for board game night and they'd let Clint come along to get ready with them and then they could all wish him luck. Now Bucky is _really_ regretting that decision.

'You are _completely_ useless!' Hope chastises him. 'You can't turn up to a date in your gym stuff. Especially not one at a high end restaurant.'

'I'll just go back to the gym-'

'-you don't have time,' Tony cuts him off, grabbing hold of his wrist. 'Come on you idiot, you're about my size. I'm sure there's something in my wardrobe you can use. Now don't say I never do anything for you.'

Once the two of them have disappeared into the depths of the house Steve turns to give Bucky one of his concerned looks.

'Don't start, Stevie,' Bucky warns him.

'You look like you want to throw up.'

'I feel it,' he admits.

'Want a vodka shot?' Natasha offers.

'Nat we shouldn't be encouraging-'

'Please god yes!' Bucky cuts off Steve.

'You shouldn't be getting drunk-'

'It's just a bit of Dutch courage,' Jane reassures him, placing a hand on his arm. 'Let him be, Steve.'

Steve just sighs and nods. 'Fine.'

Bucky mouths a thank you to Jane, the woman is so calm and sensible that no one tends to argue with her. Outside of games that in. In games she's ruthless; it's scary really. The only person more ruthless is Loki. And Bucky is convinced Thor's brother is really a secret serial killer.

It doesn't take long for Tony and Clint to return and Bucky has to swallow back a lot of the compliments he wants to give. Tony's put Clint in a dark purple shirt with black dress pants and the blond looks amazing.

'Looking good Clint!' Hope calls from the dining room. 'Now go knock your mystery person dead!'

'I'm not sure I can-' Clint starts.

'Clint! Go!' everyone shouts at him. He just holds his hands up in surrender and waves goodbye to everyone, walking out the door and to the waiting cab outside.

As soon as the door is shut there's flurry of activity.

'Quick!' Natasha grabs Bucky's glass from his hand. 'You can't be too far behind him.'

'All your stuff is waiting on the bed in the spare room,' Tony tells him, passing him a glass with a couple of fingers of whiskey in it as he's pushed by him.

'Come on, Buck, you don't have much time,' Steve urges him, pushing him along the corridor.

Really he thinks he has equal parts the worst and the best friends possible.

* * *

Bucky watches the cab drive off and turns to look at the entrance to the restaurant. The windows are all tinted so you can't see in and there's a group of, what he'd guess to be, businessmen just going in now. Compared to them he feels a tad underdressed, although Steve's lent him one of the suit jackets that Tony had made for him to attend Stark Industry events in, so he doesn't feel _quite_ as underdressed as he could have been.

And why is he focussing on his bloody _jacket_ when Clint is inside waiting?

Bucky straightens himself up, reminding himself that if he can face insurgents in a war zone he can walk into a restaurant and tell the guy he's been dreaming about since high school he loves him, and walks up to the door, smiling and thanking the doorman who opens it at his approach.

'Booking under Stark,' he says as he approaches the desk. Tony had made the reservation as it meant they'd get special treatment. According to him anyway, Bucky thinks he's just showing off.

'Wonderful, sir, please follow me. Your guest has already arrived and been seated,' the woman says, smiling widely and leading him through the restaurant; he'd left instructions on the note he sent to Clint with what to say when he got here so he could keep his identity hidden for a bit longer.

_Ok maybe Tony wasn't exaggerating,_ Bucky thinks as she shows him through to a private room.

'I'll be back to take your order in a few moments,' she says, 'in the meantime I'll leave you to talk and make your decision. If you need anything there's a button on the table you can press and someone will be in within a few minutes.'

'Thank you,' he smiles at her and tries to fight back the nerves as she reaches for the door handle. He's starting to wonder if those insurgents were still around and if he could go back to fighting them instead.

He walks through the door and lets it be closed behind him as he looks over at Clint, who is just looking up from the menu.

'Bucky?' Clint asks, eye wide in shock. 'What are you doing here?'

'Well I thought it would have been obvious?'

'Wait,' if possible, Clint's eyes go even wider, '_you_ sent all of those gifts?' Bucky just nods, his voice lodged in his throat. 'But…_why?_'

'What do you mean, why?'

'Why did you send all of that stuff? It wasn't because…it's because you were feeling sorry for me always getting rejected isn't it? Look Buck I appreciate the gesture but I would have preferred if you'd just left well enough alone, alright? This is just kind of cruel.' Clint sighs and stands up, taking his jacket from the coat hook and it's only as he's about to walk past Bucky that his brain kicks in and he grabs hold of Clint's arm.

'Wait, what? You think I did this out of pity?'

'Well what other reason could you have?' Clint demands.

'What other reason? I thought I'd made that obvious from the gifts!'

'Look just leave it alright? Let's go home-'

'Clint I love you,' Bucky blurts out and the other man freezes, but doesn't turn to face him. 'I have since high school,' Bucky's voice is quieter now, but no less firm. 'It's killed me watching you fawn over all these other people, watching you walk down the aisle with someone other than me, but I bit it all back because I thought you were happy. Then every time I'd just get my courage up to tell you there'd be someone else on the scene.'

'That steak meal the other month?'

'Yeah…yeah I was going to tell you then but you'd just met Carol.'

'But…since _high school_?'

'Yeah,' Bucky releases Clint's arm to rub the back of his head, effectively messing up the pristine bun Natasha had put his long hair into not even an hour ago.

There's silence for a few moments. 'I should have guessed it was you. All the gifts, they could only be from someone who'd known me as long as you three have. I just…I didn't dare hope it _was_ you I guess,' Clint admits.

'Wait, what?' Bucky looks at him, eyes going wide.

Clint laughs softly and heads back to the coat hook and hangs his jacket back up. 'Uh…yeah. Shall we maybe sit down and have some wine for this conversation?' Bucky just does as he suggests, mind still racing to catch up. When he takes his seat opposite Clint he notices the other man is fiddling nervously with his napkin. 'I guess…I always had this part of me that wanted you Bucky, but I never thought you were interested. So I resigned myself to just being good friends and tried to ignore all of them.'

'Hadn't you noticed I never dated anyone?' Bucky asks him. 'All these years Clint, no one could match up to you. When you moved in I tried to resign myself to just being close to you as friend, but I couldn't help my heart breaking along with yours every time someone chose another person over you. I used to get so angry because I couldn't understand how no one could see how wonderful a person you were. Nearly knocked Steve out when he and Tony first got together.'

'You _what?_' Clint nearly spits out his wine.

'Yeah,' Bucky rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. 'It was only Tony telling me he assumed _we_ were together and he didn't have a chance with Clint was the reason he'd even considered Steve in the first place that calmed me down.'

'So _that's_ why Steve had a black eye. He never did tell me how he got it,' Clint laughs.

'It's always been you, Clint,' Bucky tells him. 'Only ever you.'

Clint smiles at him across the table, a smile full of pure happiness that Bucky hasn't seen on his face since high school. He can't resist it, he stands up and goes over to the other man, cupping his cheek with his hand and pressing a soft kiss to his wine tinted lips.

'I love you, Clint,' he repeats.

'It's only ever been you too, Bucky,' Clint tells him, 'I was just too scared to admit it.'

'Think we should order some food?' Bucky asks with a grin.

Clint laughs. 'And some more wine. I still can't believe you brought me _here_.'

Bucky winks at him as he takes his seat again. 'I'm going to look after you properly, doll. Although Tony insisted on paying half tonight so he can gloat about being responsible for bringing us together.'

'In that case we're ordering the most expensive drinks we can and he's paying the drinks tab,' Clint laughs.

'This is why I love you,' Bucky raises his wine glass to the other man.

'I love you too,' Clint winks at him, clinking his glass and taking a drink.

Yeah he may have the most annoying friends in the world, Bucky thinks, but he also has the best. Because without them there's no way he'd have had the guts to get the guy in the chair opposite him.

Not that he'll ever tell them that of course. For now he's just going to enjoy this night with Clint. This night and every night.

* * *

_A/N: Well that's a wrap everyone! I've not done such a short multi-chaptered story that wasn't part of a longer series in ages. It's been a lot of fun and I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you so much again to BritInvasion80 for letting me borrow the idea - I hope I've done you proud._

_Please do let me know what you thought of the story and let me know if you have any requests. _

_The next story to come out will be the next instalment in the main series 'Another Chance' so check out the series so far if you haven't already._

_Love always,_

_L x_


End file.
